Iran defends conference to examine scientific evidence for
Holocaust

By The Associated Press

Haaretz

Tevet 24, 5766

Iran Tuesday defended its
plan to organize a conference to examine what it terms the scientific
evidence for the Holocaust, the official Islamic Republic News Agency
reported.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi also
castigated British Prime Minister Tony Blair for criticizing the event,
saying the time has come for Western leaders to hear comments not to their
liking.

"For over half a century, those who seek to prove the
Holocaust have used every podium to defend their position. Now they should
listen to others," IRNA quoted Asefi as saying Tuesday.

The planned
conference is yet another step in hard-line President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad's public campaign against Israel.

Ahmadinejad already
had called the Nazis' World War II slaughter of 6 million European Jews a
"myth" and said the Jewish state should be "wiped off the Map."

If
the Holocaust did happen, Ahmadinejad said Israel should be moved to
Germany or North America, rather than punishing the Palestinians, who lost
their land in the name of what he called crimes committed by
Europeans.

The call prompted strong condemnation from Western
leaders. Blair has reportedly branded the planned conference "shocking"
and "ridiculous."

IRNA quoted Asefi as saying: "People of the world
should hear all opinions and choose the best. Such comments are an insult
to the wisdom of the people around the world."

"Unfortunately,
blind prejudice together with political interests and aims have closed the
eyes of the Holocaust defenders to the realities of the world, and they
reject without any logic a scientific conference," Asefi was quoted as
saying.

On Monday, a small round-table discussion hosted by a
private news agency and a pro-Palestinian non-governmental organization in
Tehran examined whether the Holocaust was a lie or an exaggeration. The
discussion was attended by mostly university students.

Political
science professor, Ahmad Bakhshayesh, called the Holocaust a lie used by
Zionists to justify creation of Israel.

Iran's Foreign Ministry,
which was expected to sponsor the conference, has yet to fix a date or
place. It was not clear who might attend.

Ahmadinejad has been
issuing the highly inflammatory comments about Israel and the Holocaust in
conjunction with the country's deepening confrontation with the West over
its nuclear activities. The United States and its allies accuse Iran of
seeking nuclear weapons. Tehran says the program is its right under the
Nonproliferation Treaty and is designed for electricity
generation.